Apparatus for cleaning and drying ice-cream brick molds



March 3i.- 1925.

T. L. VALERIUS AET Al.

Armin-U5 ron mamme Ann DRn-rie Ica cama Bitzcx uozsbsmea sept. 1, 1921 2Shoots-'Sheet 1 1 try-:T122:-

f6. C. "f

Patented Mar. 3l, 1925.

UMTED STATES riri'efizirr orsi-C13.

THEODORE L. VALERIUS AND OLA?? LAR-SEN, OF FORTy'IKINSON,` WISCONSIN,AS-

SIGNORS TO* THE CREAMERY FACKAGE MFG. COMPANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND DRYING IOE-CR-EAM BRICK MOLDS.

lApplication led September To all whom It may cof/cern Be it known thatwe, Tie-mononnv L. VA- LrmUs and OLAF Larsen', citizens of the vUnitedStates, Vresiding at Fort Atkinson, in the county ci Jelierson andStateof Wisconsin, have invented Certain new and useful Improvements vinApparatus for Cleaning and Drying Ice-Cream Brick Molds, of which thefollowing Vis a speciiication.

Our invention relates to means for washing, draining, sterilizing anddrying in a thorough, convenient, sanitary and rapid manner, themetallic molds or pans in which ice cream intended for sale in the vformof bricks, slices or cubes, is frozen.

The obj ect of our invention is to produce an apparatus which can beconveniently controlled by one man and in which the molds or pans to betreated are passed in a continuous row, first through a washing field,then through a draining field, and then through a drying field, to bedelivered in clean, dry and sanitary condition ready to be lilled withcream.

The utility of our apparatus will become apparent vfrom the followingspecification, and the accompanying drawings in which a constructionincorporating the| various eatures oi' our invention is shown and onwhich:

Fig. 1Z1 is a side elevational view of the left half of the apparatus,

Fig. 1b is a side elevational view of the right halt of the-apparatus,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view from plane 2 2, Fig. la,

Fig. 3 is aplan view ot one end of the washing section,

Fig. 4 is .a plan view showing the guiding means for changing thepositionsfo't the molds when traveling from the draining section to thedrying section,

Fig. 5 is a vsectional view on 3piane 5.-5, Fig. 4, Y

Fig. 6 i's an enlarged sectional view on plane 6 6, Fig. 1b, and

Fig. 7 is an end view of the entrance end of the apparatus.

The apparatus comprises the entrance section E, the washing section WV,the. draining section D, and the drying section H. Atthe washing sectionis provided the supporting structure comprising the rectangular iframe'1Q mounted ou legs 1,1-,k Secured. to and ris- 1, 1,321. Serial No.497,751.

ing from the legs 11 at the ends of the `frame are standards 12 and 13of :rectangular shape which are connected together aty their uppercorners by angle bars 14;. A cover 15 extends between the tops ot thestandards and -removable side wallsl and 1-7 form with the cover achamber in which -themolds are washed. Extending from the opposite sidesof each -standard are the brackets' 18 and "I9 'of -L-shape forsupporting lrespectively the mold `bodies B .and their covers C. Thebases of the brackets. incline downwardly and the rupright membersthereof kincline inwardly and engage at' their upper ends as clearlyshown in Fig. 2, the base members of the bracket 18 being longer thanthose of the bracket 19 in order to accommodate the larger body parts ofthe molds. The brackets 18 are connected by a iloor plate 2O yand thebrackets 19 are connected by a floor plate'21 on which `floor plates thebody and cover parts, respectively, rest while traveling through thewashing field. The upright parts ot' the brackets are connectedrespectively by bars 22 and 23aga-inst which the open sides ot the bodyand cover Aparts lean, the interior ot' the body and cover parts beingthus exposed to Areceive washing water and to readily discharge thewashing water owing to the inclined position of the supporting brackets.Y l

Above the brackets the standardsvsupport varches 25 between whichextendthe guide bars 26 for prevent-ingtipping of the body and coverparts ot the molds out of their inclined positions on the supportingbrackets.

The entrance section E of lthe apparatus is formed of the walls .27 and28 which have the rsame inclination as the upright 'sections 'of thebrackets 18 and 19, and lead thereto.

.The walls at their lower ends `are bei'i'rto form the troughs29 andlv80 Jor'receiving the lower ends of the lbody and cover parts of themolds, the lfloors of the troughs being inclined and leading to thefloor plates 20 'and 21 of the bracket members in the `washing field.The body and cover parts are set on edge in the troughs and rest ininclined 'position against the walls Y27 and 28, and `the inold partsarethen pushed into the washing lield in a continuous row.

Extending longitudinally through .the washing section housing betweenthe bracket trames therein is the spray 'or jetA 'pi-pe '31,

and extending through the upper part of the housing above the mold partstherein are the jet pipes 32 and 33. These jet pipes are connected bybranch piping 34 and 35 with the main piping 36 connected with the pump37 which is driven by a motor M. Below the washing field the tank 38 issus` pended from the frame lO and is connected by pipes 89 with theinlet end of the pump 37. The water for washing the mold parts is thusdrawn from the tank and jetted or sprayed over the parts, from which itflows back into the tank. Fresh water may be supplied through the pipe40 and steam t-hrough the pipe 4l. Before using the apparatus, water andsteam are charged into the tank until the water is at the desiredtemperature. The same water may then be used for a period of washingand, if desired, there may be a continuous infiow of steam and water,the overfiow pipe 41a being provided for the tank which keeps the waterfrom rising above a certain level and .through which scum and dirtfloating on the water may escape. The pump delivers the cleaning waterto the jet pipes under considerable pressure `and the jets are directedwith considerable force against the insides of the mold parts and theoutsides thereof, the molds being thus thoroughly washed. In the form ofmold shown the body part has the cover receiving bead or iange b and thecover part has the peripheral flange c for engaging with the bead. Theseflanges engage the floor plates and hold the lower sides of the body andcover away from the plates so that the washing water can readily iiowalong and clean the bottom sides of the parts.

The `iet pipes may be supported in any convenient way in the washingsection housing. As shown they are supported in the end walls 42 whichclose the ends of the housing except for the spaces between the bracketsand the arches.

The draining section D forms a continuation of the washing section, andhas the floor plates 43 and 44 forming a continuation of the floorplates in the washing section, the bars 45 and 46 forming continua tionsof the bars 22 and 23 of the washing section, so that the body and coverparts of the molds pass through the drain. section in the same positionas in the washing section to permit the water to drain 'from the insideand outside thereof, the drain section being preferably enclosed andhaving the bottom 47 along which the drain water flows back into thetank 38.

After passing through the drain section the mold parts reach the dryersection H. The dryer section is mounted on pedestals 48 and comprisesthe outer framework 49 (Fig. 6) containing the W-shaped guide trough 50having the outwardly inclined side walls 5l and 52 and the upwardlyinclined base walls 53 and 54 on which the body and cover parts,respectively, of the molds are supported, the body parts resting withtheir bottoms against the wall 50 and with their flanges against thewall 53, and the cgver parts resting with their tops against the wall 52and with their flanges against the wall 54. In order to tip the moldparts to their new positions in the dryer field, as shown in Fig. 5, theupper guide bars 4o and 46 coming from the drain section diverge asul'iicient distance, Ias indicated at 45, 46 in Fig. 4,'to cause thebody and cover parts to be tipped from their positions in the drainsection to their new positions in the dryer section.

lVe preferably utilize electrical means for providing the necessary heatin the dryer section. As shown, electrical heating elements 55 aresupported against the rear sides of the walls 5l and 52 so that the heatis applied to the bottoms of the body and cover parts to produce rapidevaporation of any moisture within these parts and to quickly dry them.Suitable switch mechanism 56 is provided for controlling the electricalcircuit for the heating elements.

The apparatus can be readily taken care of by one man, who inserts themold parts at the entrance end and in so doing pushes along the moldsand covers previously inserted. ln the washing field the parts arethoroughly washed and rinsed, and in the draining field the waterrapidly drains from the parts, and they will also be dried to aconsiderable extent owing to the heating they receive while in thewashing section. After leaving the draining section the mold parts areautomatically tipped over against their backs and the heat which theyreceive thoroughly dries them. The application of the hot water to themold parts and the heating thereof during passage through the drivingsection causes the parts to be thoroughly sterilized, and when the partsare delivered from the apparatus they are clean and sanitary and readyto be filled with cream. As the washing and draining sections areentirely enclosed, the surroundings may be kept in dry and sanitarycondition. With our apparatus there is also no wastage of water, as onlysuiiicient fresh water is added to compensate for the dirty water whichliows olf through the drain pipe 42 from the tank.

7e do not desire to be limited to the exact construction, arrangementand operation shown and described, as changes and modifications could bemade which would still come within the scope of our invention.

le claim as our invention:

l. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of acontinuous guideway along which the body and cover parts of llO icecream brick molds may be shifted in separate rows, water jet pipesextending along a section of said guideway for directing water jets tosaid mold parts, said guideway comprising means to support said parts ininclined position with their open sides down to receive the water on theinside and outside when traveling past said jet pipes and to dischargethe cleaning water, heating elements arranged along another section ofsaid guideway to form a heating field, and means for automaticallytipping said mold parts before reaching the heating field whereby theyare inclined with their open sides up while being dried.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of opposedguide members along which the body and cover parts of ice cream brickmolds may respectively be shifted, jet pipes adjacent a section of saidguide members, said members at said section being inclined and the bodyand cover parts resting with their open sides against said memberswhereby cleaning water will be discharged therefrom, said members at asucceeding section being inclined in the opposite direction to supportthe closed sides of the body and cover parts, means for automaticallytipping said parts during their travel from one of said sections to theother, and means for heating said parts when in the last named position.

In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a supportingguideway along which the body and cover parts of ice cream brick moldsmay be shifted in separate rows, a portion of said guideway beingadapted to support said parts with their closed sides up, means forapplying cleaning water interiorly and exteriorly of the parts when inthis position, means for automatically tipping said parts Whiletraveling over another portion of said guideway to bring them intoposition with their closed sides down, and means for heating said partswhen in this latter position.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of acontinuous guideway along which the body and cover parts of ice creambrick molds may be shifted, water jet pipes arranged along a section ofsaid 0uideway, ,for supporting the mold parts on edge with their opensides inclined downwardly when traveling past said jet pipes wherebysaid parts will be washed inside and outside, means for producing heatalong another section of said guideway, said guideway having means fortipping the mold parts before reaching said heating sect-ion to positionsaid parts with their open sides inclined upwardly.

5. In an apparatus of the class described in combination, a continuousguideway along which the body and cover parts of ice cream brick moldsmay be shifted in separate adj acent rows, said guideway having aportion comprising under supports for said body and cover parts andinner lateral guide bars adapted to retain said parts in inclinedposition with their open sides down, means for washing said parts whilein such position, said guideway having another portion continuous withsaid first portion comprising under supports for said parts and outerlateral guide walls adapted to retain said parts in inclined positionwith their open sides up, said inner lateral guide bars eX- te-ndingdivergently into said second portion of said guideway to tip said partslaterally outward upon said guide walls, and means for heating saidguide walls.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

THEODORE L. 'VALERIUS OLAF LARSEN.

said guideway comprising means

